Lockdown drills have become a shudder-inducing part of American life, preparing kids to lie low and keep quiet if a gunman chooses to roam their school. But a new study finds these drills help children who’ve been exposed to violence, helping them feel safer at school. The findings contradict claims that drills traumatize children rather… read on > read on >
Toddlers who are really into their food might have a higher risk of developing an eating disorder once they enter adolescence, a new study shows. Kids ages 4 and 5 with a strong urge to eat when teased with tasty food appear more likely to report a range of eating disorder symptoms by ages 12… read on > read on >
Talking about the “good old days” might elicit eye rolls from teenagers, but it could be the key to boosting a preschooler’s language skills, a new study finds. Reminiscing about past events with preschoolers presents young kids with high-quality speech as good as or better than sharing a book or playing with toys, researchers discovered.… read on > read on >
Television has been wryly referred to as the “electronic babysitter,” but a new study argues TV or other media could stunt a child’s language development. Children plopped in front of videos for hours on end tend to use phrases and sentences with fewer words, researchers reported recently in the journal Acta Paediatrica. Unfortunately, the results… read on > read on >
In a ruling that could drastically limit future infertility care, the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. In the decision, judges turned to what it called anti-abortion language in that state’s constitution and concluded that an 1872 state law that allows parents to sue over the… read on > read on >
Mercury levels in tuna haven’t changed since 1971, despite efforts to reduce emissions of the toxic metal into the environment, researchers report. Their analysis of nearly 3,000 tuna samples caught in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans between 1971 and 2022 revealed stable mercury concentrations in tuna during those five decades. The research team specifically… read on > read on >
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024Postmenopausal or peri-menopausal women are often hampered by vaginal dryness, which can put the brakes on a healthy sex life. It doesn’t have to stay that way, experts advised. Numerous products are available to help maintain vaginal lubrication. “After and around the time of menopause, your body makes less estrogen,” Dr. Cynthia… read on > read on >
A shift in parenting early in a child’s development might help curb the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), new research suggests. When a preschooler exhibits an “excitable or exuberant” temperament, dialing down a “controlling” style of parenting in favor of what’s known as “directive” parenting could mean milder ADHD symptoms as a child ages,… read on > read on >
A study of mental health care in Maryland finds an increasing number of children and teens covered by Medicaid are taking multiple psychiatric meds. This trend towards “polypharmacy” might be happening elsewhere, prior research suggests. In the new study, Maryland kids ages 17 or younger experienced “a 4% increased odds of psychotropic polypharmacy per year… read on > read on >
FRIDAY, Feb. 16, 2024 When grandparents can lend a hand with little ones, moms are less likely to battle depression. And, in turn, they are less likely to take antidepressants, Finnish researchers report in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Population Studies. Based on a study that tracked 488,000 mothers of young children in… read on > read on >
